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Penny Hoarder makes move to print media

The Tampa Bay Times strikes a deal with its digital neighbor.

Penny Hoarder CEO Kyle Taylor has heaped praise on St. Petersburg as “a city that cares a great deal about journalism,” citing the presence of the unique arrangement that allows the dominant daily newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times, to be owned by a nonprofit, the Poynter Institute.

The two publications also happen to be headquartered in the same building in downtown St. Pete.

So it comes as little surprise that Taylor’s rapidly growing digital media company — which had $37 million in revenue in 2017, up 83% from $20.5 million in 2016 — would seek to forge a partnership with the Times. “Having those connections is important to us,” he says.

The Times-Penny Hoarder alliance kicked off July 29, with the debut of the “Dear Penny” personal finance advice column in the print paper’s Sunday business section. Written by personal finance expert Lisa Rowan, the Q&A-style column began appearing earlier this year on the Penny Hoarder website. The arrangement with the Times represents the company’s first foray into print media.

Aligning with the Penny Hoarder and its younger demographics could be seen as a move from the Times to reel in millennial and Gen X readers who have largely abandoned print media. If nothing else, it’s a way to deliver new takes on a popular, evergreen topic — and boost its "cool factor" in the eyes of advertisers. “We’re looking forward to giving our readers a fresh voice and new perspective on personal finance issues and saving money, which we know is very important to them,” states Times managing editor Jennifer Orsi in a press release.

"We hope this is just the beginning," Penny Hoarder managing editor John Schlander, who worked for the Times for 32 years, tells Coffee Talk. "We’re thinking big. We hope for this to become a 'Dear Abby' of personal finance, leading to syndication in multiple places."